Baseball: Champion's hit parade

Offensive feats disheartening for Champion's foes.

Derek Tyner (from left), David Massey and Blake Allemand are big reasons Boerne Champion is batting .434 as a team and ranks fifth in the country with 421 hits. Allemand, a future Aggie, leads the Chargers with a .495 average. TOM REEL/treel@express-news.net

The Chargers have hit for power with 36 home runs, despite playing in a large home ballpark. Champion's fence is 315 feet down the foul lines and 370 feet in the power alleys.

They also stay patient at the plate, drawing 136 walks and boosting their team on-base percentage to .508 this season.

No pitchers are safe. Not even Champion's.

“During our scrimmages, our pitchers can get their confidence shattered, and I'll have to play psychologist,” Champion coach Chuck Foster said. “There's a lot of reassuring the pitchers that they aren't going to face many teams that hit like this.”

Foster was Boerne High's coach in 2004, when the Greyhounds won the Class 4A state championship with Russell Moldenhauer and Bradley Suttle leading the way. He said that team had a .295 batting average.

Foster said there's also a mental edge to the Chargers' gaudy numbers, as opposing pitchers can't pitch around players when the bottom of Champion's order is also hitting above .400.

Taking batting practice before their bidistrict series against Kyle Lehman, the Chargers gave a live preview of their series and put on a home run derby.

Both an intimidation tactic and a way to loosen up, players said they hit 36 home runs with Lehman players watching from the dugout.

Champion outscored Lehman 29-3 for the series in two five-inning, run-rule victories.

“They sat there watching us hit shot after shot,” shortstop Blake Allemand said. “It had to give us a big advantage before the game even started. I don't know why they kept watching, but they did.”

Allemand, who has signed with Texas A&M, leads Champion with a .495 average and 58 runs scored. The Chargers' leadoff hitter, he also has a team-high 42 RBIs, an indication of how well the bottom of the order is hitting.

He credits constant communication in the dugout as a key reason the entire lineup is hitting so well.

“Anytime we're walking back after batting, we're giving pointers to the next guy up,” Allemand said. “Everybody's always paying attention and looking for something to attack.”

With all the Chargers hitting so well, junior Josh Holcomb is left as the only starter batting below .400. His .351 average would be impressive if not for the rest of the lineup.

“It's a good problem to have when .350 is the worst on the team,” said Holcomb, who's batting .538 in the playoffs. “You better believe I'm going to catch up.”